It’s easy to love the pick-your-own apple season and while there are no such orchards in the Upper Laurentians, there are many to discover in the Lower Laurentians this month. As a family activity, with friends or as a couple, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the three Lower Laurentians orchards we recommend here, each one ready for you to “pick your own”:

• Labonté de la Pomme, Verger et miellerie (Oka);
• La Magie de la Pomme (Saint-Eustache);
• Les Fromages du Lac (Saint-Joseph-Du-Lac)

Don’t forget to phone them before you head out.

Portions: 4 to 6 | Preparation time: 25 minutes | Cooking time: 30 minutes.

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) caraway seeds
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) olive oil
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper, in generous amounts
• 500 g Brussels sprouts, sliced ​​in half lengthwise
• ½ cauliflower, in florets
• 4 large carrots, cut into small pieces

Duck

• 2 apples, in small cubes
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden brown sugar
• 4 Brome Lake duck breasts
• ½ teaspoon (3 ml) salt
• ½ teaspoon (3 ml) ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) apple cider vinegar

Method

Vegetables

1. With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 425 °F (220 °C).
2. In a large bowl, mix the caraway seeds with Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, maple syrup, mustard, salt, and peppe
3. Add vegetables and toss to coat well.
4. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are golden brown and fairly tender.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the duck steak.

Duck

1. Mix apples with brown sugar. Set aside.
2. Pat duck breasts dry on both sides with a paper towel.
3. With a sharp knife, make crisscross incisions into the skin, without cutting into the meat.
4. Season the meat side only with salt and peppe
5. Preheat a frying pan to medium-high heat; cook the breasts with the skin side down until the skin is golden and crispy, about 5 minutes*.
6. Turn and cook flesh side down for 5 minutes.
7. Transfer the duck breasts to a plate. Let stand for at least 5 minutes, loosely covered with a piece of aluminum foi
8. Remove the cooking fat that has accumulated in the pan and add the sweet apples.
9. Cook for about 3 minutes and deglaze with the apple cider vinegar. Allow the vinegar to evaporate completely. Beware of splashes. Set aside.
10. Slice the breasts lengthwise (in 2 pieces) and place them on the roasted vegetables. Add the caramelized apples.
11. Generously salt and pepper both the apples and the duck breasts.

* The breast is sufficiently caramelized when fat can be easily removed from the pan. If there is any resistance, it is not yet perfectly caramelized.

J u l i e  Z y r o m s k i — Gastronome

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